So Long Harry-Time for a Sculpture

Albuquerque's first Mayor of the modern era, Harry Kinney, died today. He really is a man worth remembering.

I first met Harry Kinney when I was a reporter for KOAT TV in the early 1970's. He was on the old Albuquerque City Commission and I covered that beat for the news broadcasts. Harry was always a very soft spoken member of that Commission and it is not surprising that everyone had a lot of respect for him.

Albuquerque voted to go to a new form of Government in 1973 and Harry was elected its first Mayor in 1974. I went to work for Harry Kinney as the Public Information Officer in 1975 and stayed with him for about two years. I think he was the one who really convinced me that government work and politics was worth doing.

Harry was elected Mayor just as Albuquerque was getting ready to 'break out' of its role as a medium sized city. Harry was an engineer and he understood public works and the costs of city growth. He was a great proponent of that city growth and his biggest desire was to create good jobs and sustained economic growth. He did it in a methodical way. Like all Mayors, he was constantly frustrated by the City Council and didn't really like their parochial views which he saw as interfering with the city's good as a whole. He wasn't flamboyant nor egotistical. He wasn't constantly trying to further his political career by gathering headlines. I don't think he ever was convinced that meeting with the news media was a good idea, and he did not do it much except for the city hall beat reporters that he trusted. He just cared about Albuquerque and the people who lived here.

Jim and Bobbi Not Long After Meeting in City Hall Elevator--Thanks to Harry

I am especially thankful for the job Harry gave me because if he had not, I would never have met a young intern in the elevator by the name of Bobbi. She has been my wife for almost 30 years now.

Harry and his then wife Carol, who recently passed away, had a beautiful home on the west bluff of the Rio Grande. They were constantly lending it out for charitable fund raisers. The view from their back yard was to die for. It was really funny to see the guests lined up at the telescope in the back yard to watch young lovers on the east bank of the river. It was also used for bird watching.

One of the funnier things that happened when I worked for Harry was the infamous 'drunk park' controversy. Harry was sick of inebriated people in downtown and in fact he was worried about them. He wanted to have a special place for them in the down town where they could gather and 'sleep it off' in relative safety. The media immediately labeled it a 'drunk park' and the idea tanked in the City Council. It was one of the few times I ever saw Harry really upset with the media.

It was no surprise to see Harry drive a cab after he left office and politics. He knew every street in the city and the fastest way to get there. When he was in office he and I would pile in his Mayormobile often and just drive around the city taking notes. I did the same thing when I was Mayor. I learned it from him.



Harry was responsible for Albuquerque's fame as the host of the International Balloon Fiesta. I wrote about that in this blog last fall. Read it here.

Harry was honest and ethical. I didn't always agree with him while on the job or when I ran against him for Mayor 10 years later. But Harry Kinney was a good man who loved the city he lived in. We need to build a memorial to him in Civic Plaza. I will miss him.